As the two men shared a knowing smile Grace punched the smarmy Serin in one of his bruises.
"She would have killed you two idiots if Mage Cade hadn't arrived when he did. What were you two thinking trying to take on a dragon by yourselves? You know what it doesn't matter, I think the bruises will serve as a fine reminder of your limits, and if you two are good boys I will give you a treat when we get home."
Striding away with a huff Grace joined the rest of the assembled guild leaders as Cade and her two mates watched the irritated woman walk off.
"Ah the joys of marriage, if you two will survive for the time being we have a meeting to attend."
Giving the two an amused glance Cade went to join the planning session that he hoped would be less exciting than the wait for it had been.
The grass crunched under his feet as Cade walked toward the orc's encampment outside of the city.
The planning session with the guild leaders had been enlightening, to say the least.
Andaria's thieves had done an admirable job thinning the slavers ranks until the arrival of the mercenary force had driven them into the underground of the city.
Her reports to Qetch had been a little optimistic about her group's ability to handle the added threat of the orc's force and numbers even with the addition of Zag's own admittedly green militia.
The number of losses on both sides had been manageable until the slavers and mercenaries had enacted martial law in the city a day after they realized quite a few of their combined patrols were being killed en mass as they underestimated the thieves' ability to traverse the city unnoticed.
The guerrilla tactics had become much less effective when anyone seen out after the sun had set was killed on sight, limiting the thieves' ability to blend in with the masses.
That option being removed had limited their attacks to massive daylight skirmishes or quick night attacks that had resulted in a few of their hideouts being discovered and summarily destroyed.
With his policing force nearly destroyed after only two days of batting the more experienced force, Cade decided to go to the source hoping a little shock and awe would convince the mercenaries to leave for home with their lives and what money they had collected for their services so far.
As he approached the orcs main encampment he brought his weapons of choice, his mithril spikes, out of their hidden pouches as he saw several dozen massive trolls milling about the massive sprawling camp, their huge size catching his eye before his attention was drawn to an imposing orc as he walked towards Cade with a smug smile on his face.
"So the vaulted Mage Cade makes his presence known at last. When my scouts told me your home had arrived and you hadn't shown yourself I thought my group would have to dig you out of your hole. I am Olme and I command this group of miscreants, I would ask why you are here but my orders are to kill you on sight as painfully as I can if possible."
As Olme finished the camp went into a frenzy as orcs, trolls, and quite a few dark and wood elves armed themselves and charged at Cade with his death written on their screaming faces.
As he scanned as many of the approaching force as he could in the few seconds he had until they reached him with their weapons Cade hoped this plan of his worked, the citizens of Opect and his little cabal of guild leaders lives rested on his ability to show these men and women how scary he could be.
Explosions blew through the group of mercenaries as the bodies of the few he had been able to scan glowed blindingly before the fission reaction he had set off in their bodies blew them apart, knocking those lucky enough to be outside of their kill zones flying through the air and killing others outright that had been to close to them.
As dozens of bodies landed harshly against the ground, one massive troll crushing a group of orcs as he landed among them, Olme roared out something in orcish that caused the ground around them to shake before a massive force crested a hill lock and Cade lamented his rush to get here as he saw the hundreds of enemies angle their rush towards their target, him.
The shaking of the ground grew in intensity as Cade decided to take to the air instead of fighting the horde rushing toward him on the ground, his concentration on creating a platform beneath his feet was shattered as a blow to his head sent him tumbling as the forgotten commander Olme hit him with a crushing blow with a massive two-handed sword.
With his head ringing after the blow, Cade rose off of the ground shakily as a droning began in the back of his head, the old familiar sound signaling how close to death he had come due to his inattention.
He rolled to the side on instinct won through hours of getting his ass handed to him by his wives and barely avoided the overhand chop from Olem as he tried to cleave into Cade's back.
Coming to his feet after the roll he threw a mithril spike towards the commander before turning to face the approaching hoard that thankfully hadn't overrun him yet.
The clang of metal on metal signaled Olme's success in deflecting his hurried throw and the stomping of his feet that he could barely hear over the all-encompassing sound of the massive group hurdling towards him was drowned out for several seconds as Laurith's roar signaled his wives arrival to the battlefield.
Cade's heart rose into his throat as he saw the loves of his new life throw themselves into the path of the wave of roaring enemies.
His attempt to rush to keep them safe was interrupted by the long blade of Olme's sword as it blew through his chest.
"You mage will watch as my men tear your women limb from limb and only when you are properly cowed at my feet will I kill you, but for what it is worth I take no pleasure in what is about to happen my contract is signed and I have a family of my own to protect."
As the commander's words rung in his ears Cade tried to find some modicum of calm to focus his abilities but failed to bring them to bear as he saw his loves losing their fight to save him.
Every blow to them brought his resolve to bear but his body failed him as Olme cut tendons and muscles and slid a small blade between joints to keep his captive where he kneeled in front of him.
As his Mina took a blow to her head that laid her low Cade screamed his rage and anger which redoubled as he was forced to watch his wives fall, even his goddess went down under a massive pile of bodies as she continued to swing her war hammer with abandon.
His dragon mate falling under dozens of hammer blows from a massive group of trolls that replaced every fighter she killed with three others as they continued to swamp her massive body was the last straw for Cade's sanity as he snapped.
As a wave of silence grew over the battlefield the mass bodies frozen in Cade's godly grip halted in their tracks.
He stood from his position on the ground as Olme's captive blade shoved through his gut sliced deep into his body as he walked away from the frozen mercenary and toward where he had last felt his loves.
Even as his eyes began to shine with a bright internal light his body healed the damage from his ordeal with the commander the energy pouring from him destroyed his cells and repaired them over and over as he walked numbly toward the still group.
His eyes remained unfocused as he walked through the morass, dissolving those who weren't his as blood began to trickle from every available orifice.
As another group of mercenaries blew away in a wave of glowing particles his breath froze in his chest as he found his Nat impaled by a sword through her chest, her face set in a grim smile as her polearm pointed straight up in the air at an enemy destroyed by Cade's power.
As the numb feeling of rage still roiled in his chest, Cade dissolved the sword before healing his wives' grievous wound.
Forcing his mind to hold onto the thought that his Natty would be ok and be charming him with her sexy wit he continued his search for his loves praying for this world that they had not been taken from him.
As he found each of them with terrible wounds his rage and power grew as he made their bodies whole even as the wild power coursing through him destroyed his.
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His goddesses eye and leg had been torn out and off, Mina's left ear had been severed along with her arm, his little firebrand had been pinned to the ground by spikes of earth and one had been driven through her throat, his sweet had been ripped in two by a pair of trolls, his pixie had been disemboweled and left to bleed out, and his pet had simply been treated as massive spears of wood filled her underbelly.
As he brought their healed bodies to him he swept the field clear of the mercenaries before the internal war between his body and his power was won by the latter and he fell to the ground unconscious.
When the bill come due
Coming awake Cade's scrambled mind cast about for his location and his wives before a splitting headache destroyed his attempt to use his abilities to solve the problem and his eyes rolled up in his head as he heard a faint shout of concern before darkness swallowed him again.
As a voice sung softly he awoke again this time surrounded by light as it passed through the windows of his mental home.
His eyes opened slowly as the voice singing the song hitched before his body was covered in a warm embrace.
The familiar scent of his goddess caused him to grin, "she is safe at least" he thought to himself before he hardened his heart as he said the four terrible words that had been running through his mind as he healed his wive's horrendous wounds.
"Are they all ok?"
As he forced the question past the lump in his throat he felt tears begin to soak the front of the shirt he was wearing and his heart broke into pieces.
"Of course they are ok you... fffucking idiot. We all would have been fine if you didn't rush off trying to be a hero."
Those five words drove the breath from his body as tears of relief flowed from his eyes, his wives were safe and sound and that was all that mattered.
As he hyperventilated, his breath coming in bursts as relief coursed through him Promena began to beat his chest with her diminutive fists in a cute rage that brought him back from the edge of madness.
"STOP LAUGHING!!! you... you almost died, If I had remained out of it for a few more minutes on that field you would have bled out, and after we got you home you almost had a stroke. We need you as much or more as you need us our ch... family can't go on without you."
As his hysterical chucking ended Cade embraced his frowning goddess in a tight hug before he attacked her soft lips like they were the last he would ever touch.
As they came up for air Promena straddled his hips and graced him with a beautiful smile.
"That is better my love now I think we should let our wive's know you are alive and still the horn dog we love and cherish."
Grinding against his hard length she left his mind with a happy laugh as he tried to capture her in his arms.
Smiling at the empty air above his bed Cade readied himself for the tongue lashing he was about to receive as he left his mind to join the loves of his life.
Two days after his ordeal with the mercenaries Cade stood in front of the new council of Opect as they laid out their verdict for Havrai and Graft.
Whipping a mental attack through the mind mages shield as he tried to attack anyone and anything to keep from facing the results of his predations on the kingdom of Dejot, a grim smile grew on Cade's face as Graft cursed loudly at the crow assembled before the council.
As the massive square filled with citizens now free from the threat of the slavers Cade heard the council give their final verdict.
"For crimes against the people of Dejot, you Havrai shall be put to death by the very people you have failed to protect. And Graft former head mage of Dejot shall share his sentence. Mage Cade if you would do the honors."
As Indaria finished handing out the council's sentence Cade picked the two men up by the backs of their necks and with a little power for added oomph tossed them into the center of the waiting crowd.
As they tore into the two screaming men he let his pettiness show as he healed the two from innumerable cuts bruises and broken bones as the citizens of Opect vented their years of frustrations and mistreatment on them.
After an hour the two lay in a pile of their viscera and blood as the people they had treated so badly began to depart from the square their rage at the two catatonic men sated.
Bringing the two men over to lay at his feet Sabine and Xandia came on to the stage with murder in their eyes as they looked upon the two with malice.
"They are all yours you two, Sabine you know the drill, and Xandia you may deal with them however you like they will not die no matter what you do to... ok never mind."
Cade was surprised at the ferocity the two displayed as they tore into Havrai and Graft, Sabine's interrogation of Rista paling in comparison as they moved in tandem to tear the two catatonic men.
He created a chair from the stone under his feet and made himself comfortable as the fur and skin flew, the two women one who was his wife and new love and the other her mother separated by time and distance from her baby had earned the release they received from venting their rage.
A few hours later with the two men barely a smear on the stone and Sabine and Xandia gone to enjoy some after execution shopping Cade made his way to Inadria's home to find out what the mage had wanted from him during his trip to Havroth.
Knocking on her door he was greeted by a wizen dark elf in a modern-looking wheelchair as he heard padded footsteps rushing through the house.
"Mage Cade it is a surprise to see you. I wouldn't have expected you for a few days, you weren't in the best shape when your wives brought you back to your home."
After asking her question she stepped aside and helped the wheelchair-bound dark elf into their living room.
Cade was a little taken aback as the two worked in tandem as they served a quick lunch to their guest as Indaria bustled around the kitchen and her mate struggled to assist her.
"Mage Cade this is my mate Vic and I asked you here to see if you could help with his condition. We have visited your clinics and the healing machines haven't been able to cure him of his ailment. If you could try to heal him
After making her request Indaria sat expectantly next to her mate, wild hope for a solution to their problem clear in her eyes.
Looking into the man's body Cade found his muscles were severely atrophied, even more than his wane face would have suggested.
Deciding to start with his heart that struggled to pump the blood through his body he tried to force the precious muscle to grow and was surprised as nothing happened.
"How long has this been going on?" He asked the two as he tried to find a reason for the lack of reaction to his abilities.
"I... have... been... this... weak... since... birth."
Before the huffing man could continue his wife interrupted his halting words with a smile.
"His parents sold him to a trader a few weeks after his birth after they discovered his he was an earth mage despite his condition and he was sent here from Kandar after he bought out his servant contract looking for a cure to his ailment."
Figuring the man lacked some trigger for his brain to produce the necessary proteins to grow his muscles, Cade scanned his forearm before forcing the muscles to grow.
As he spotted the minute molecules that had appeared in his bloodstream as they sunk into the growing fibers he copied their makeup and searched for an object to use for a power source.
"Do you have anything that you could hang around your neck or preferably attach to your body? The enchantment I have in mind should allow your body to produce the... ceeemicaaals... anyway do you have anything that would meet those requirements."
Finishing his request in a rush Cade realized he might need to include a few medical journals filled with his admittedly spotty knowledge of the body.
He satisfied his slight anxiety at the idea that his knowledge wouldn't be all-encompassing by forcing himself to admit that it would provide a vast improvement on the healing of this world as Indaria tore off through the house in search of an obje
ct that would meet his requirements.
"How long have you two been married?" He asked Vic as smiles broke out on their faces as drawers were opened and shut followed by fairly inventive curses as Indaria continued her frantic search.
"Two years next month, I came this city in search of a cure as my Indy said, and after the healers failed to find a solution to my problem the mages guild was my next option. I met my mate then and her drive for knowledge matched my own and we enjoyed each other's company so much we decided to make the arrangement permanent. Though I do like to tease her sometimes, a forty-year-old woman taking a twenty-three-year-old man's innocence is a little scandalous wouldn't you say, my love?"
Tweaking a long black ear before kissing her mate with a loving expression Indaria placed an elaborately engraved silver pendant affixed to a mithril chain in Cade's lap before sitting carefully on Vic's lap.
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